Purpose: This Halloween keyboarding activity is intended to promote creativity and collaboration by encouraging students to write a short Halloween story. This activity not only strengthens student’s typing skills but also emphasizes the importance of effective communication and coordination, essential skills for both academic and real-world contexts.
Procedure:
1. Provide students with one Halloween Writing Prompt.
2. Give students 5 minutes to type the beginning of their own story.
3. After the timer ends, direct students to exchange seats with a peer and give them 5 additional minutes to add to their peer’s story.
Exchange seats as many times as desired with a new student each round.
A minimum of 3 rounds is needed.
Note: Consider cutting the writing prompts into small strips and have students choose their own prompt from a Halloween bucket.
4. To end the activity, have students return to their original seats. Give the students 10 final minutes to read the chaos their classmates have created and type a conclusion that brings the story all together.
5. Have a few students read their finished stories out loud with the class. Give students who share their stories a small Halloween treat.
Materials Needed:
A timer and precut writing prompts for the students to choose from. (Small treats as desired.)
KeyMaster® Variation: For an added challenge, use the KeyMaster® Keyboard to blank out learner’s keys to eliminate selective letter choices. Students will need to brainstorm new words, with available letters, to contribute to their story.
Additional Variations: Students can be encouraged to come up with their own spooky writing prompts or they can write a prompt for their peers.
To discourage disruptive behavior and potentially inappropriate writing, have students type their first and last name next to their story contribution.
Time Required: Teacher’s discretion (Minimum 30 minutes)
Download this Lesson Plan as a PDF Here: Mystery Monster Mash-Up: Halloween Activity
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**Adapted From: “Spooky Story Scramble” by Bridget McConnell.